INNOCENT BLOOD paperback

INNOCENT BLOOD paperback

A young John Jordan confronts the Atlanta Child Murderer and meets one of the greatest detectives to ever carry a badge.

Go back to the very beginning with one of crime fiction's most fascinating and unique detectives.

INNOCENT BLOOD -- the 7th in the popular, award-winning, and critically-acclaimed John Jordan mystery series.

With a Special Introduction by Michael Connelly

Every great character has a past.

Few are as entertaining, as thrilling, or as tragic as that of ex-cop turned prison chaplain John Jordan.

When he was twelve years old he came face to face with the man who would be convicted of the Atlanta Child Murders.

Six years later, John returned to Atlanta determined to discover who was truly responsible for all the slaughtered innocents.

But first he must ascertain whether or not LaMarcus Williams belongs on the infamous list of missing and murdered children. The questions in the case are many, the answers few. Who Killed LaMarcus Williams? How was he abducted from his own backyard while his mom and sister watched him? Is he a victim of the Atlanta Child Murderer that didn't make the list or is his killer still out there, still operating with impunity?

Experience the events that shaped one of the most unique characters in all of crime fiction. Accompany John during his first spiritual awakenings, his first battles with alcoholism, his first forays and fallings into love, and his very first murder investigation. Get answers and gain insight into the investigator, the minister, the man. See how John Jordan took his first faltering steps toward becoming the man he is today.

˃˃˃ Every great character has a past, but it's not often you're allowed to witness it the way you will John Jordan's in the portrait of a detective as a young man that is Innocent Blood.

“Michael Lister is a giant talent with a unique vision. His landmark John Jordan Mystery series is a treasure of contemporary literature.” Florida Weekly

"Another great ride with a very assured driver behind the wheel." Michael Connelly

Q&A for author Michael Lister: Does your interest in the Atlanta Child Murders go back as far as your character's? Where does it come from?

My interest in the Atlanta Child Murders goes way back. Perhaps not quite as far back as John’s. The case is not the obsession for me it is for him, but, for a variety of reasons, it holds captive a not unsubstantial part of my imagination. Like John, I was a child when the Atlanta Child Murders were happening. That’s certainly significant. Like him I have a connection to Atlanta. Like him my friends resembled the victims. I’m always surprised when Southerners seem to have relegated it to forgotten history.

While writing Innocent Blood, I actually asked a friend of mine who is the same age as me about it. We grew up together. He’s from a law-enforcement family and is now a sheriff. I thought if anyone would remember, it’d be him, but he said it really didn’t register with him at the time and wasn’t on his radar now.

I think too many people, particularly Southerners, have forgotten. I never can. It will be nice if Innocent Blood reminds those who were alive at the time and introduces it to those who weren’t.

The case is not solved and should not be filed away and forgotten.

As I wrote in Innocent Blood: "In one of the greatest ironies in criminal history, the Atlanta Child Murderer wasn’t arrested, charged with, or tried for killing a single child."